Seals for double doors and the like

ABSTRACT

The disclosed invention concerns seals for double doors or windows, i.e. those which have stiles which meet edge-to-edge in the closed situation, in which a strip-like fitting on one door overlaps the other when closed and thus elastically deforms and presses a sealing strip against the coplanar surfaces of the adjacent stiles; the seal strip is formed so that it can roll laterally to accommodate uneven surfaces.

United States Patent Dixon 1451 July 25, 1972 [5 1 SEALS FOR DOUBLE DOORS AND THE 1,841,868 1/1932 Wuebling ..49/366 LIKE 2.115.036 4/1938 Morrison ...49/36@ x 1,877,448 9/1932 Fitz erald.... .....t.49/493 I721 MM England 3,501,868 3/1970 Gan zinotti ...49/4a9 x Assignee: Bernard Di M Plum um l X don, England FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS [22] Filed: June 19, [970 611,057 9/1926 France ..49/493 21 1 Appl. No.2 47,679

Primary Examiner-David J. Williamowsky [30] Foreign Application Priority M Assistant fiaminer-Philip C. Kannan I Arromey-Stevens, David Miller & Mosher June 24. 1969 Great Brltam ..3l,876/69 [57] ABSTRACT [52] U.S. Cl ..49/485,49/368, The disclosed invention concerns seals [0' double doors 0: l 5' 1 In E06, 7/16 windows, i.e. those which have stiles which meet edge-to-edge intheclosedsimadonin whichasmpfikefimngon onedoor [58] Field 0' sflll'th ..49/493, 498, 475, 366, 485, overlaps the other when closed and bus elastically deforms 49/489, 486, 367, 368, 3 nd presses a sealing strip against the coplanar surfaces of the adjacent stiles; the seal strip is famed so that it can roll I Rflmllm Cilld laterally to accommodate uneven surfaces.

UNITED STATES PATENTS 4 Claims, 2 Drawing Figures [,622959 3/1927 McManamay ..49/493 Patented July 25, 1972 1.7.527

FIG. I.

SEALS FOR DOUBLE DOORS AND THE LIKE The invention relates to draught and weather seals for double doors or windows, such as double french windows," in which two edges come together and usually present a gap or crack which needs to be sealed. Structural defects, warping, or bad hangings at the hinges, may introduce to this problem the additional complexity that there is variation of the gap. The invention seeks to provide a very simple form of seal which is effective to seal the gap or crack between adjacent edges of double doors or windows (for brevity, hereafter referred to as doors).

According to the invention we provide a seal to close and seal the gap between meeting edges of double doors comprising a rigid strip-like element attachable to one door and having a flange extending so as to overlap the meeting edge of the other door the flange having a reentrant lengthwise channel facing the other door in which channel is retained an elastomeric seal strip which has an exposed part outside the channel which part is elastically yieldable and formed so as to press elastically and permanently against the edge of the one door and to press elastically against the edge of the other door when the doors are closed.

The seal is so constructed that as the doors close, or the one door closes against the other, the seal will not only flatten but can deform laterally to take up inequalities either of surface or of movement. The deformable seal section is arranged so that it will always overlap the gap or crack between the stiles of the doors.

The accompanying drawings illustrate the invention by way of two examples. They are sections through the adjacent structure of two doors and their seal.

In FIG. I the stile of the first door is seen at l and it has a rebated edge at IA, fitting approximately a rebate 2A of the stile 2 of the second door. To the outer face of the stile l is screwed a strip 3A of an extruded metal section having a joggled flange 4, the inner surface 4A of which faces and overlaps the second stile. In the face 4 is a reentrant section channel indicated at 5, shown as rectangular but of any convenient shape. and into this is elastomerically pressed or is longitudinally pulled, a key part 6A of an elastomeric strip-like seal 6. The effective part of the section of the seal, at 6, is preferably a hollow tube but may be for example of spongy nature providing that it behaves elastically. It is, at rest, substantially circular, but when squeezed in first assembly against the edge [A it is deformed so as to be partly flattened; and when the doors are closed (as in the Figure) the still-exposed part of the seal section 6 is further squeezed and flattened by contact with the second door 2. When closed, the seal 6 thus bridges the gap 7 between the stiles of the doors. It will be noted that at 8, there is left enough room for the seal 6 to roll or deform in one sense laterally should movement or warping so dictate, and obviously the seal is free to deform in the other lateral sense, between the surfaces of 2 and 4A.

The external section of the strip-like seal element 6, 6A is not critical; it is such as to be retained in the channel by the flange 4 on the one hand, and to be elastically deformable both in direct compression and in lateral deformation on the other hand. The seal may, of course, be used between two doors which are in a plain edge-to-edge relationship, without the edge 1A and rebate 2A, and this is illustrated by FIG. 2 in which 21 and 22 are the stiles of a pair of swing doors having at 23 adjacent edges preferably of arcuate section as illustrated. The seal strip, as in FIG. 1, is so located that when the doors are closed (as shown) the gap between the edges at 23 is sealed.

In both examples, it will be appreciated that the seal is intended to be fixed to whichever door is intended to move first away from the other; in FIG. 1 this is of course dictated by the rebate, and in FIG. 2 it will be fitted according to convenience but it is obvious that the 2! door cannot move in one sense, unless the 22 door moves out of the way.

We claim: 1. The combination of double doors or windows having adjacent vertical edges and a clearance gap defined by such edges whdn tghedoors are in a closed condition, a seal for the doors comprising a rigid strip-like element and an elastomeric strip, said element attached to one side of one of said doors and having a flange formed with a flat surface facing and overlapping the gap between the adjacent vertical edges of said doors and spaced from the surfaces of said doors, the flat surface of said flange facing said doors having formed therein a longitudinal channel of open, reentrant section which opens opposite the gap and divides the flat surface of the flange into margins extending laterally from the channel, and the elastomeric seal-strip has a portion of its cross section retained in said channel and an exposed portion of its cross section protruding from said channel, the protruding portion of said elastomeric strip having in a relaxed state a lateral dimension exceeding the channel width and the gap width, said exposed portion being elastically yieldable having freedom to deform and laterally roll in the space defined on either side of the protruding portion of the elastomeric strip and between the flange and the doors, and disposed to be backed up by the margins of the flange and bear directly and resiliently seal against the surfaces of the doors when said doors are in a closed condition.

2. The combination according to claim I, in which the said flat surface of the flange extends in a plane substantially parallel to the plane of the surfaces of the closed doors, and the protruding portion of the elastomeric strip is a tubular section when in a relaxed state.

3. The combination according to claim 1 in which said vertical edges are rebated, complementary and overlap each other when the doors are in a closed condition.

4. The combination according to claim 1 in which said vertical edges are of arcuate section in the horizontal sense.

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1. The combination of double doors or windows having adjacent vertical edges and a clearance gap defined by such edges whdn tghedoors are in a closed condition, a seal for the doors comprising a rigid strip-like element and an elastomeric strip, said element attached to one side of one of said doors and having a flange formed with a flat surface facing and overlapping the gap between the adjacent vertical edges of said doors and spaced from the surfaces of said doors, the flat surface of said flange facing said doors having formed therein a longitudinal channel of open, reentrant section which opens opposite the gap and divides the flat surface of the flange into margins extending laterally from the channel, and the elastomeric seal-strip has a portion of its cross section retained in said channel and an exposed portion of its cross section protruding from said channel, the protruding portion of said elastomeric strip having in a relaxed state a lateral dimension exceeding the channel width and the gap width, said exposed portion being elastically yieldable having freedom to deform and laterally roll in the space defined on either side of the protruding portion of the elastomeric strip and between the flange and the doors, and disposed to be backed up by the margins of the flange and bear directly and resiliently seal against the surfaces of the doors when said doors are in a closed condition.
 2. The combination according to claim 1, in which the said flat surface of the flange extends in a plane substantially parallel to the plane of the surfaces of the closed doors, and the protruding portion of the elastomeric strip is a tubular section when in a relaxed state.
 3. The combination according to claim 1 in which said vertical edges are rebated, complementary and overlap each other when the doors are in a closed condition.
 4. The combination according to claim 1 in which said vertical edges are of arcuate section in the horizontal sense. 